Wave energy converters

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Introduction

Vast and reliable, wave power has long been considered as one of the most promising renewable energy sources. Wave Energy Converters (WECs) convert wave power into electricity. Although attempts to utilize this resource date back to at least 1890, wave power is currently not widely employed (Miller,2004[1]). The plethora of innovational ideas for wave power conversion have been invented in the last three decades, resulting in thousands of patents over recent years. At present, a number of different wave energy concepts are being investigated by companies and academic research groups around the world. Although many working designs have been developed and tested through modelling and wave tank-tests, only a few concepts have progressed to sea testing. Rapidly decreasing costs however, should enable wave plants to compete favorably with conventional power plants in the near future (Pelc and Fujita,2002[2]).

Classifications

Wave Activated Body

Overtopping Devices

Point absorbers, Terminators and Attenuators

Wave energy converters as a coastal defense technique

See also

References

  1. Miller, C.,2004. A Brief History of Wave and Tidal Energy Experiments in San Francisco and Santa Cruz. [1]
  2. Pelc, R. and Fujita, R.M., 2002. Renewable energy from the ocean. Marine Policy, 26,471-479.
The main author of this article is De Rijcke, Maarten
Please note that others may also have edited the contents of this article.

Citation: De Rijcke, Maarten (2011): Wave energy converters. Available from http://www.coastalwiki.org/wiki/Wave_energy_converters [accessed on 29-04-2024]